What is a commercial energy audit?
A commercial energy audit examines the amount of energy a building is consuming, and identify anything that’s causing unnecessary consumption. Checklists are used during these inspections to make sure auditors don’t miss anything. Over the course of a commercial energy audit, inspectors will use gathered information to recommend energy and cost-saving measures.
Regular energy audits have been mandatory since December 5th, 2015. Businesses need to carry them out every four years, to check whether they’ve successfully reduced energy consumption over time. In the EU, energy audits are regulated according to the DIN EN 16247-1 standard. Commercial energy audits can be an alternative or supplement to certified energy or environmental management systems.
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Things to inspect with a commercial energy audit checklist
Thorough commercial energy audits help control energy consumption and costs. They’re also an important means of documenting essential energy flows and determining potential energy reductions. In order to meet sustainability goals, energy audits are legal requirements in many countries.
In the UK, for example, they’re called EPCs and are mandatory in most types of buildings. If a building’s energy usage is found inefficient during an inspection, appropriate energy efficiency measures must be implemented. When conducting a commercial energy audit, you should check:
1. Energy consumption habits
When you’re evaluating consumption habits, make sure to note whether:
- Appliances are switched off after use
- The lights stay off during the day
- The thermostat is only adjusted up or down by 8 degrees, depending on the outside temperature
2. Building structure
Check the insulation on walls, floors and ceilings to make sure heat or cold can’t escape. Check the gaps in doors, windows and vents, as well as openings between the interior and exterior of the building, to verify that they are draught-proof
3. Equipment & devices
- Lighting – Energy-efficient options such as halogen bulbs, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) as well as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can significantly reduce energy costs. Inspect lighting systems and test whether they can be switched off in daylight.
- Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) – Check whether an automatic thermostat is installed and working. Such thermostats can adjust the temperature for different times of the day and maximize efficiency. Check the air filters to see if they need cleaning.
- Electrical appliances – Check that computers and monitors are energy-efficient considering their model. Check the energy factor of the water heater (EF), and decide if it should be replaced. Check that the refrigerator seals are in good condition, the temperature is set correctly, and the coils are kept clean.
More effective commercial energy audits with workflow automation
Considering the long list of factors to include on a commercial energy audit checklist, physical inspections can become impractical quickly. They’re time-consuming and often redundant when you’re performing the same audit regularly.
Using Lumiform’s workflow automation platform, it’s easy to perform commercial energy audits no matter where you are. Thanks to the mobile app, you’re able to inspect buildings with a tablet or smartphone, wither online or offline.
Simply use the custom form builder or a pre-made energy audit form to generate your checklist and download it. During an inspection, the Lumiform app guides you through each item on your checklist and ensures results are accurate.
Other ways Lumiform transforms the commercial energy audit process are:
- By securely storing inspection data in the cloud, so your compliance and energy efficiency is documented
- Saving you up to 4x the time when conducting inspections thanks to the mobile app’s intuitive UI
- Helping you report and address issues faster thanks to automatic or in-app issue reporting
- Sending regular audit reports so that you can easily summarize and identify patterns in collected data
